“We’re back”: Canada on the world stage in Mali

The day after his victory in the 2015 election, Justin Trudeau addressed a crowd of supporters in Ottawa for just the second time as Canada’s prime minister-designate.

“I want to say this to this country’s friends all around the world: Many of you have worried that Canada has lost its compassionate and constructive voice in the world over the past ten years. Well, I have a simple message for you,” Trudeau said before looking directly into the audience. “On behalf of 35 million Canadians, we’re back.”

Trudeau’s words have been held up as the prime minister’s promise to return Canada to peacekeeping relevancy. Nearly three years later, the Canadian Armed Forces is within days of reaching its full operating capacity in the United Nations’ mission in Mali.

The Liberals waited until November 2017 to make their first tangible promise about Canada’s revitalized contribution to global peacekeeping efforts. At the 2017 UN Peacekeeping Defence Ministerial in Vancouver, the Trudeau government revealed Canada would offer up to 600 troops to UN operations worldwide, with no more than 200 deploying to any one mission. The government would also offer transport aircrafts as part of what it unveiled as its “smart pledges” initiative.

The “smart pledges” initiative aims to fill UN gaps with Canadian services. It is part of the larger Vancouver Principles, which the Liberals revealed as the new steering guidelines for Canada’s involvement in peace operations.

Canadian officials visited Mali and other potentially deployable destinations prior to that conference, but wouldn’t commit to any mission in Vancouver. Canada’s official commitment to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) came months later in March, 2018. At that time, Canada had less than 50 troops abroad serving on UN missions.

Canadian Forces members, from 450 Tactical Helicopter Squadron at Canadian Forces Base Petawawa, load a CH-147F Chinook helicopter rotor assembly onto a CC-177 Globemaster at CFB Trenton in Trenton, Ont., on Tuesday, July 3, 2018. The helicopter will assist during Canada’s UN mission in Mali. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lars Hagberg

Since then, the Liberals have tweaked some of the Mali mission’s logistics. The number of troops has been toyed with; the government settled on sending 250 members of its Forces, but have held that its capacity could stretch to 600. The number of helicopters was first announced as six, but Canada now has eight in Mali. Three are Chinook transport helicopters and five are heavily-armed Griffon escorts. One of each remain grounded, to be used as spares. They’ve also dedicated additionally up to 20 civilian police to assist and train Malian police forces.

Just over three weeks ago, the Angus Reid Institute released its findings from polls it conducted with Canadians about the country’s involvement in Mali. They reported that 59 per cent of Canadians think the government’s decision to deploy troops to Mali is the right move, while Canadians who voted Conservative in the last election were most likely to be opposed to the mission.

The outspoken Conservative opposition has led the staunch criticism of the government’s decision to commit troops to Mali. They maintain that the government broke protocol in bypassing a debate and vote in the House of Commons on the Mali mission.

“A lot of countries are avoiding Mali like the plague,” Conservative Defence Critic James Bezan told iPolitics in late June, just after the first Canadians arrived at the MINUSMA base near Gao, in northern Mali. “The instability, the danger, and that there is no peace to keep. How did we get snookered into this particular mission when there are other missions out there? Again, this is why we should have a debate.”

Another criticism of the mission by the Conservatives is that it’s being used as a tool by the Trudeau government to land Canada a seat at the UN Security Council. Those opposed to

Chief of the Defence Staff General Jonathan Vance arrives with the first Canadian troops at a UN base in Gao, Mali, on Sunday, June 24, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

the mission have also held firm that the so-called peacekeeping mission can’t be considered such. Canada’s chief of defence staff Gen. Jonathan Vance, as well as other senior government officials, have said the mission isn’t of traditional peacekeeping, a practice the Liberals have admitted that given modern conflicts a thing of the past.

The region is undoubtedly one of the most problematic in the world. Mali descended into turmoil in 2012, when a rebellion raged in the country’s north and a military coup deposed of its president. Instability ever since has allowed insurgent jihadist groups to grapple for power and spread their influence throughout much of the country’s north.

Mali’s ongoing presidential election has been marred by violence. Al Jazeera reported that 644 of about 23,000 polling stations were disrupted by “armed attacks or other violence” in the election’s first round of voting on July 29.

Canada’s troops are expected to serve in a safer-than-most role in Mali by providing medical airlifts. They’re replacing a helicopter contingent from Germany and Belgium. The duty hasn’t been without its tragedy, as two German pilots were killed a year ago when their helicopter crashed. Germany’s Der Spiegel reported findings from the German Defence Ministry, attributing the crash to autopilot settings that were incorrectly set.

In total, almost 170 members of MINUSMA have been killed since 2013, the most of any UN mission.

The Canadian Armed Forces says by mid-August they’ll expand the type of tactical airlifts to include transporting troops, equipment, supplies and food. This too has invoked concern from the critics of the mission with those who are skeptical wondering just how far Canada’s expected capacity could go outside of the medical airlifts that it originally promised to provide.

In hitting their deadlines and avoiding any disaster so far, the government has been able to keep its so-far-so-good sentiment about the deployment. They’ll hope to hold the same for a year, which is what the Liberals have set as the military’s firm withdrawal date. Until then, with eight helicopters and 250 troops in the most dangerous mission in the world, we’re back.